A free 10-minute guide: the real cash you need up front, how financing works in plain English, and every step from pre-approval to keys. Written for the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex.
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This is for people buying their first place anywhere in the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex — and for anyone buying their first small rental. If you've already bought three homes, you probably don't need it.
Most people start by looking at houses. That's the fun part, and it's the wrong first step. You tour a place you love, and then you find out what the payment really is, or that you needed a pre-approval three weeks ago. Suddenly it feels like everyone else got a rulebook you didn't.
Nobody hands you the order of operations. What do I need in the bank — not just the down payment, the whole number? What's the difference between pre-qualified and pre-approved, and does it actually matter? What's an option period? At what point am I committed?
None of it is complicated once somebody lays it out in order. It's just that usually nobody does. So I wrote it down.
Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex
Real answers, real numbers — for the market you're actually buying in.
The six things to do before you tour a single house — in the order that saves you months, not the order most people do them in.
What buying actually costs in cash on a $399,000 home: down payment, closing costs, earnest money, the Texas option fee, inspection, and appraisal — each with a real dollar range and when it's due.
Why you don't need 20% down, what the lower-down-payment loans actually start at, and what mortgage insurance adds to your month.
Pre-qualified vs. pre-approved, and why sellers only take one of them seriously.
Where the DFW market actually stands — median price, days on market, months of inventory — with the source printed under it so you can check me.
The Texas option period, explained: the short window where you can walk away for any reason and get your earnest money back, and how to negotiate it for more than just price.
What happens between “offer accepted” and “keys,” in order — inspection, appraisal, underwriting, final walkthrough, closing.
The six mistakes I watch buyers make most often, including the one that costs people the house they wanted.
| What you pay | On a $399,000 home | When it's due |
|---|---|---|
| Down payment | 3–5% | At closing |
| Closing costs | 2–3% | At closing |
| Earnest money | about 1% | 3 days after contract |
| Texas option fee | flat fee | 3 days after contract |
| Inspection | flat fee | During the option period |
| Appraisal | flat fee | Ordered by your lender |
Real dollar ranges and the source for each figure are printed on this page of the guide.
Page 6: the whole cash picture on a $399,000 home in one table — and a note on which of these come back to you at closing.
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Right now: the guide hits your inbox, usually inside a minute. If it's not there in five, check your spam folder — it comes from winerrealtor@gmail.com.
In a day or two: one short email from me asking whether anything in the guide raised a question. That's it. If you don't reply, that's a real answer and I'll take it.
About a week later: one more email with something useful — usually the current DFW numbers and what they mean if you're still looking.
After that: one email a month. Every one of them has an unsubscribe link at the bottom that works on the first click.
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Ever: I don't sell your information, share it, or hand it to a lead company. It stays with me.
No eight-month drip campaign. No calls at 8 p.m. If you're a year out, just tell me and I'll leave you alone until you're not.
I'm Jonathan. Before real estate I taught high school social studies, and I came to this for the same reason I taught — I like walking people through something that matters and making sure nobody has to feel lost doing it.
What that means for you: one person start to finish, not a team you get passed around. I answer my own phone. And I'll give you the real number on a house, including the times when the real answer is “not this one.”
“I'm here when you need me — call or text, anytime.”
Whatever you're deciding, you should get to decide it with the real numbers in front of you.
Yes. No card, no trial, no upsell on page two. It's a PDF, you download it, and you owe me nothing.
Only if you tick the box on the form. If you don't, you'll hear from me by email and that's it. You can also just put a fake number in the phone field — it's optional, and the guide comes either way.
Then you're exactly who I wrote it for. Most people who read this aren't buying this year. Some of them never buy, and the guide still did its job.
Good — that's the right time to read it. Credit takes weeks to fix, not days, and the six steps in the guide are the ones that go badly when they're rushed. The early questions are the cheap ones to get right.
No. Everything in the guide works whoever you hire, and I wrote it that way on purpose. If it's useful and you want to talk it through, my number's on the last page.
Yes, for the parts that are the same — the cash you need, the financing, the option period, the closing. There's a section on running the numbers on a rental before the emotions. If you're on your third property, you'll find it basic.
The real cash, the real steps, the real DFW numbers — in one PDF, free, and you'll have it in about a minute.
Send me the guideWould rather just ask a person? Call or text me at (972) 977-7790 — happy to talk it through, no pressure.
Last updated August 2026.
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Jonathan Winer, REALTOR® · eXp Realty · TREC License #815589 · (972) 977-7790 · winerrealtor@gmail.com